Garo: Ashura
Garo Ashura is a Special Episode, aired as part of Garo: Makai Retsuden, and continues the 10th anniversary celebration of the ''Garo Franchise''. ''This episode also serves as a special collaboration, between the Garo Project and New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Special stars NJPW wrestlers and IWGP Heavyweight Champions Hiroshi Tanahasi and Togi Makabe portraying original characters; '''Gouki' and Zarugin respectively. Mika Hijii also makes an appearance, reprising her role as Kaoru Saezima, and a younger version of Raiga Saezima is portrayed by Keito Sugizono. Synopsis "A long time ago, Demon Beasts terrorized many people, and everyone lived in fear. But amidst all of these, there was one protector; One Makai Knight..." - Kaoru's introduction Plot Summary Before the events of Makai no Hana, a young Raiga Saezima is told the story of The Golden Knight and the Black Flame by his mother Kaoru. After getting ready for bed, Raiga asks his mother if he can become a Makai Knight in the future. Kaoru tells him that it is really up to him if he wants to become one. Raiga gets excited and says that he wants to become Garo in the future, and Kaoru tells him that he needs to work hard to achieve that dream. When Raiga asks if Garo is really strong, his mother simply tells him that the Golden Knight has something that no other knights have. She then tells him another story: Ages ago, when Horrors freely roamed the world and were known to normal humans as Demons, a Makai Knight named Gouki battles a large scorpion-like Horror in the middle of a forest. Gouki overpowers the Horror but stops his attack midway as he was about to strike a small flower. The Horror takes advantage of this and stabs Gouki on his shoulder, but before the Horror can finish him off, Gouki is shielded by an aura from a large statue. The Horror retreats and Gouki passes out. When Gouki wakes up, he finds his wounds tended to by a young woman named Ren, after she and her younger brothers Shin and Taku found him. Gouki goes to the forest and retrieves his sword, and Shin immediately goes to dislike the knight, saying that guys with swords are no different from the Demons. Ren apologizes to Gouki for Shin’s behavior and tells him that a group of Demons that came from the mountains slaughtered their village one night, and the three of them were only spared due to the power of Guardian Deity statue, which shielded them from the Demons' attack. Ren also shows Gouki her necklace, with a stone that came from the statue. That night, the scorpion-like Horror returns and while the siblings became worried for Gouki, he enters the woods for “payback” and summons his Armor out of view, destroying the Horror much to the siblings' awe. Gouki spends time with the siblings, helping them with their living while recuperating from his injuries. He also tries to lecture Shin about using his will and beliefs to become stronger, and that he shouldn’t rely on the statue for protection, however, Shin dismisses him. Gouki finally recovers and Ren plans to make a small feast as a send-off to Gouki. While gathering food, she notices the dirt on her body and goes to a small lake to take a bath, but gets abducted in the process. Gouki and Shin go on and search for Ren and they see her clothes and necklace near the lake, before getting attacked by a group of Horrors from the mountains. Gouki defeats them and goes on to their base to rescue Ren after instructing Shin to protect Taku, fighting off some of them before their leader Zarugin uses the captive Ren as a hostage to make Gouki surrender. Shin and Taku arrive and destroy some of Zarugin’s Demons by throwing rocks that they broke off from the Guardian Deity statue at them. Gouki breaks free and proceeds to battle Zarugin, who reveals his true Horror form as a monstrous and giant beast. Gouki summons his armor and reveals himself as the Golden Knight Garo, much to the Horror's shock. The two fight and Zarugin eventually knock Gouki back due to him fighting while protecting the three siblings. Shin remembers what Gouki said and tells his siblings to imbue Ren’s necklace with their beliefs, before throwing it at the Horror. The necklace breaks and its energy imbues Gouki with power, transforming his Armor into the Soaring Garo form. With this, Gouki overpowers Zarugin finally and destroys him. The next day, Gouki leaves the three siblings, apologizing for making them go through the experience, and also thanking them for saving him. He also tells them to keep their beliefs strong so that they could protect each other in the future. With the story over, Kaoru explains to Raiga that Garo’s power comes from the will of people that Garo has protected and it turns their beliefs into reality. After hearing the story, an energetic Raiga then stated that he will surely become Garo when he grows up. Kaoru then puts his son to sleep, wishing him goodnight. Cast *Gouki: Hiroshi Tanahashi *''to be added'' Notes * As a way to promote the crossover, the New Japan Pro Wrestling company changed its logo from a lion to Garo's helmet. Said logo also changes its motto label of "King of Sports" to the "King of Hero". * Mika Hijii's character in the Special is now credited as Kaoru Saezima. * The special episode continues the theme of the Garo Armor's eye color changing for every wearer. In Gouki's case, the Armor's eyes turn a silvery white. * The Soaring Garo form is drastically different from the Winged Garo form that Kouga Saezima had, since the former's wings sprout from the Armor's ears, instead of its back. * The maneuver that Gouki uses to defeat Zarugin is a called the "High Fly Flow". This is a variation of the Frog Splash technique in Professional Wrestling and is Hiroshi Tanahashi's signature wrestling move. * The ending credits of the episode show all of the transformations of the Garo Armor throughout all of the series and movies, which is an important plot element in Kaoru's story to Raiga. *''to be added'' References